Waterloo, ON

Emergency Medical Services Headquarters

We were the Prime Consultant for the Region of Waterloo EMS operations centre, a LEED Gold Certified facility completed in two phases.

Phase 1 was completed in 2004, and Phase 2 was completed in 2012. This Emergency Medical Services (EMS) facility is operated by the Region of Waterloo and features administrative and staff spaces, and a vehicle garage.

The EMS project is a benchmark for sustainable design — being the first LEED Gold Certified building under the Canada Green Building Council in Canada. The success of this project convinced regional council to require a minimum LEED Silver standard for all new municipal buildings.

Conceived as an environmental prototype for the Region of Waterloo, the sustainable building features include photo-voltaic panels, hydronic in-floor heating system, energy recovery ventilators, displacement ventilation, desiccant dehumidification, and a rainwater cistern. Over 75% of construction waste was diverted from landfills, and over 20% of the building materials contained recycled content. Additionally, over 30% of the building materials were regionally manufactured.